Reagan`s Thoughts Far From Capital

April 06, 1988|By George de Lama, Chicago Tribune.

SANTA BARBARA, CALIF. — President Reagan sat glued to the window of the helicopter, like the proverbial wide-eyed kid at a candy store, pointing out familiar sights in the Santa Ynez mountains below while his aides watched and smiled.

``He was in a world of his own; there was no use talking to him,`` said one aide who rode with Reagan to his ranch Friday. ``He was saying, `There`s the ranch of so-and-so, and over there is the house of this other guy.` He just kept talking and talking, and he didn`t even care whether anyone was listening to him or not.``

Time is growing short for the Reagan White House, and much still remains to be done. But aides say that rarely has the President been as eager for a vacation as he has for this one.

Now 77 and entering his last nine months in office, Reagan has remarked that the pressing affairs of the world seem to fade away when he is at his beloved Rancho del Cielo near Santa Barbara.

Reagan has spent more than one full year of his presidency on trips to California. Several years ago he told an interviewer that, at his age, he couldn`t be sure how much longer he would be able to enjoy the horseback riding and simple outdoor chores that mark life on the ranch.

This time, the President packed his bags himself almost two weeks before departing Washington on a 10-day Easter vacation, aides said. ``Coming to the ranch was all he wanted to talk about,`` one said.

In the twilight of his presidency, Reagan is said to cherish increasingly his time away from Washington. Over the last few weeks, he has taken to repeating an old Harry Truman joke about life in the capital. ``If you want a friend in this town, get a dog,`` he has told several approving audiences.

Little by little, aides said, with each trip out to the mountaintop ranch near here, Reagan`s thoughts have turned to his final return to California next year and life after the White House.

First Lady Nancy Reagan flew out to California ahead of her husband last week to inspect a $2.3 million home a group of friends bought for their use in Bel Air, near the center of the Beverly Hills social scene that Mrs. Reagan prefers to outdoor life on the ranch.

Looking ahead to quieter days, the President on Monday put aside the troubles of Atty. Gen. Edwin Meese and the U.S. confrontation with Panamanian military leader Manuel Antonio Noriega and flew by helicopter to Newport Beach for a private lunch with members of the foundation planning the Reagan presidential library.

Aides said Reagan is eager to visit Moscow in late May for his fourth summit meeting with Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, and that he is looking forward to one last triumphant campaign swing across the country later this year to stump for Vice President George Bush, the almost certain Republican presidential nominee.

Otherwise, Reagan spends more and more of his time longing for the relative solitude of California and wondering about his adjustment to life as an elder statesman.

Last month, Reagan opened a meeting with former South Korean President Chun Doo Hwan by asking, ``How do you like retirement?`` according to White House spokesman Marlin Fitzwater.

Reagan has joked that he probably will spend some of his time on the speech-making rounds of the rubber-chicken circuit after leaving the White House, unburdened by the responsibilities of the White House but not entirely out of public sight or mind.

But other aides say the President also has displayed a certain angst when discussing his retirement with Mrs. Reagan, more than once asking her, ``What are we going to do, mother?``

Mrs. Reagan has said she will leave Washington with mixed emotions, but those close to her say she is relishing the thought of coming home after the travails of the last few years.

Like the President, White House officials have grown to enjoy the relatively slow pace and leisurely atmosphere of Reagan`s frequent California vacations.

At their transplanted base of operations amid the palm trees and lush gardens of an oceanside hotel here, key White House aides are responsible for staying on top of events back in Washington and around the world to ensure Reagan`s vacation is interrupted as little as possible by the business of governing the nation.

National Security Adviser Colin Powell, for example, keeps in constant touch with the nation`s defense and intelligence agencies and reports to Reagan, in writing, at least once each day.

Other White House officials monitor the latest political developments. This week that has meant some private grumbling that Meese, Reagan`s longtime adviser and friend, has refused to resign in the face of legal and political troubles and spare the President further controversy.

Later this week, after White House Chief of Staff Howard Baker arrives from his own vacation on Wednesday, senior staff members expect to meet and review plans for Reagan`s schedule during his Moscow visit.

But while the President`s aides tend to business, they do it California style, often dressed in shorts, sandals and T-shirts and leaving ample time for tennis and a little sun by the pool.

The talk now among some aides is also of the future and what jobs may await them after Reagan leaves office.

Some voice hopes of working for a Bush administration, while others look forward to leaving Washington. Almost none worries about how the Reagans will fare, however.

``The President loves it up there on the ranch with his horses,`` said one senior aide. ``He always likes to say, `There`s nothing better for the inside of a man than the outside of a horse.` For a guy like him, that`s about as philosophical as he ever gets.``